“But where on earth is this place?”

I looked around at the scenery of the forest, which had a different atmosphere.

Elements such as the vegetation of the trees, the smell of the earth, and the temperature felt heterogeneous to my skin.

‘Don’t tell me?’

I floated in the air using psychokinesis.

Due to Zhuge Ryu-hun’s rampage, a distortion had occurred during the spatial leap. As a result, I couldn’t tell where I would come out.

Finally, after climbing tens of meters into the sky, I spat out a curse.

“Damn it.”

What spread out before my eyes was an unfamiliar mountainous area.

***

“Waaaaaah!”

Meanwhile, in the war between the orthodox faction alliance and the Heretic Alliance, Jin Tae-gyeom fled, and the orthodox faction alliance seized victory.

In the midst of the overwhelming post-processing of chasing the fleeing unorthodox faction members and chipping away at their rear units, there was a scene that caught everyone’s attention.

The death of a dragon.

In the middle of it, as if a scene from a legend, was Baek Hasin, who had cut off the Yinglong’s neck. Towards him, one of the elders of the Zhongnan Sect showed his admiration.

“Incredible. To have such an achievement at that age.”

“It is thanks to the seniors.”

With that, some of the super-peak masters from the alliance side who had fought the demonic beast looked at Baek Hasin and poured out words of praise.

“It was an incredible martial prowess. It gave me chills!”

“A rising star who has caught a dragon! And they say he hasn’t even passed the age of twenty. You are qualified to receive the title of a dragon!”

“Ah, I’m fine…”

As Baek Hasin tried to decline, this time, an elder from the Shaolin Temple’s side stopped him.

“Don’t decline. Such a feat should be followed by honor! Don’t feel burdened.”

“That’s right! So how about our three sects give that child a title?”

“Good! The Sword Dragon who killed the Black Dragon! How about the Black-Killing-Sword-Dragon?”

“Excellent. Black-Killing-Sword-Dragon!”

“Black-Killing-Sword-Dragon!”

“Black-Killing-Sword-Dragon!!”

Contrary to Baek Hasin’s intention, excited shouts echoed throughout the battlefield.

In the meantime, as Baek Hasin was being pestered by the old masters for a long time, someone suddenly approached him.

In an instant, the atmosphere of the area changed. An existence that even other super-masters would glance at and make way for.

It was the best sword in Shaanxi, Cheong Ah-hyun.

“Who are you?”

“I am Baek Hasin, a student of the Martial Academy.”

Baek Hasin answered.

She was the one who had defeated Jin Tae-gyeom. A master who was counted among the ten great masters of the martial world, and who had become the self-proclaimed and publicly recognized best sword in Shaanxi as of today.

Towards such a person, he added further.

“And I am also a lay disciple of Master Cheong Ah-hyun.”

“What?”

With the mention of the sect head, Un Seong-mun, and the display of the sword plum blossom pattern ornament, which was the proof of a lay disciple, she let out a groan.

“To pass the buck so carelessly, really. So where is that child? He was using a strange sorcery.”

The person she was looking for was obvious. Zhuge Cheonwu.

But Zhuge Cheonwu was not here now.

“He’s not here.”

“Hmm, is that so? Then you tell him. Both of you should come and find me when you graduate from the academy. I have a lot to teach you.”

“Yes.”

At the spot where Cheong Ah-hyun had disappeared after a short greeting, Baek Hasin, who had been pondering the word ‘graduation’ for a moment, suddenly raised his voice as if he had remembered something.

“Ah! The promotion exam!”

The application date for the advanced student promotion exam was not far away.

“First, let’s find him.”

By the time Baek Hasin found Gu Ja-beom, he had already released the instructors and was looking for traces of Zhuge Cheonwu.

The only remaining trace was a forest that had been turned into a mess by magic.

Since Zhuge Cheonwu could also move by floating in the air, further pursuit was difficult.

And so, after looking around for a long time, Baek Hasin said.

“I’ll return first.”

“What?”

“The application for advanced students is not far away.”

At Baek Hasin’s answer, Gu Ja-beom furrowed his brows.

“Aren’t we comrades in arms?”

“Cheonwu said he could do it. There must be a reason he suddenly disappeared. You know, right? He’s not a guy who can be easily defeated. If we wait a little, he’ll be back.”

Baek Hasin then turned his feet.

The war was already over, and Zhuge Ryu-hun had also disappeared without a trace, so there was no reason to remain now.

“Are you leaving?”

A man appeared in front of Baek Hasin.

It was Bong Cheol-hwan, who had finished treating his injuries. One of his sleeves was fluttering. He took out a token from his bosom and held it out.

“It’s a token of gratitude. We have received a lot from you, including the main text, in the past few days, so we are expressing our sincerity, albeit small. The Shaolin will not forget this favor.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Baek Hasin accepted the token of gratitude in a daze. Two tokens of gratitude that clinked and collided in his hand.

“Please give one to the great hero Zhuge Cheonwu as well.”

“Yes.”

Baek Hasin put it in his bosom with an answer.

Because the person himself was not here.

Baek Hasin headed for the Martial Academy, being seen off by Gu Ja-beom and the other instructors, as well as the Shaolin Temple.

And only when everyone’s figures were out of sight did he mutter to himself.

“Where on earth did he go?”

Baek Hasin let out a sigh.

***

I looked around with my two eyes wide open. All I could see were mountain ranges.

‘Where on earth is this?’

Just then, something flashed through my mind.

‘How many days are left until the exam application?’

I cautiously spread my palm. By my calculation, there were only five days left.

‘I didn’t expect it to turn out like this.’

I had originally set aside plenty of time, but in the middle, I had been delayed by schedules such as helping the Shaolin Temple or the war with the Heretic Alliance.

In this era, there was no such thing as an advance application. Since it was unconditionally a direct application, I had to hurry.

‘But where should I go?’

I couldn’t tell where this place was.

I had no choice but to head for the nearest village first.

But to do that, even if I raised my altitude in the area, I couldn’t see anything.

‘This is big trouble.’

I couldn’t tell which region I had been thrown into.

The Central Plains were too wide. It was common for it to take weeks to move to another region.

And to think I had flown to a place with few human traces.

It was the worst of the worst.

To make matters worse, the sun was setting above my head. Thanks to that, I could tell where the west was, but that was it.

‘Let’s wait for now.’

I conserved my stamina and waited for the day to get dark. And then I floated in the air with the slightly recovered mana.

While raising my altitude, I gathered my mana and focused my vision to the extreme.

Then, a light was visible in the distance.

‘Found it.’

There was a village in the east. I began to fly quickly using the mana I had recovered.

I had to borrow a horse. Due to the aftereffects of the battle with Bae Dong-pa, the muscles of my whole body were screaming belatedly, and my mana was also insufficient.

No matter how much of a super-peak master I was, it was impossible to endure a forced march of who knows how many days in this physical condition.

If it was a simple marathon, it would be different, but in the Central Plains, where security was at rock bottom, it would be a headache to meet bandits in an exhausted state.

Moreover, since my mana pool had grown, once I had completely consumed it, it would take several days to fully replenish it.

Just as masters who had exhausted their true qi in battle would recuperate for several weeks, I also needed time to recover my mana while traveling by horse.

It seemed I had to borrow a horse first, and if I got tired in the middle, I would have to sell it and go.

‘But do I have money?’

I rummaged through my bosom, but all that came out was the Huashan Sect’s token of gratitude.

Thanks to paying all the money I had on hand to buy the Demon-Slaying Sword, I was currently penniless.

‘Damn it.’

I should have left some cash, but since the amount I had to pay in advance was enormous, I had no choice.

Come to think of it, if I thought about the money I had borrowed from Baek Hasin just in case, I was not just broke but in debt.

‘I’ll have to visit the family once later.’

As I was moving forward like that, the light of the private houses was getting closer.

But something was strange.

That wasn’t a village.

‘What is it? A mountain? Perhaps bandits hiding in the mountains? Slash-and-burn farmers?’

At first, I thought so. But as I got closer, my previous prediction was shattered.

It wasn’t at that level. The place where the light was leaking from was a very high mountain. A cloud was lightly brushing against the top.

‘Don’t tell me?’

Just as I was about to raise my altitude, sensing a certain ominousness. I felt a gruesome feeling from below.

‘Crazy!’

Who on earth could grasp a presence in the sky in the middle of this night? And at this distance.

Simultaneously, something of a tremendous speed soared at me like a surface-to-air missile.

‘Walking on air!’

Seeing the human figure that was being shot at an unbelievable speed, I squeezed out my remaining mana and aimed a Flame Lightning First Blade Spear.

You shouldn’t just shoot because you’re scared of the opponent.

I drew the Demon-Slaying Sword and looked for the optimal moment.

The moment the enemy’s distance, which was rushing in with a sound as if the atmosphere was exploding, got close.

I also kicked off a shield and was shot.

A Flame Lightning First Blade Spear that was fired from the opponent’s blind spot while thrusting the Demon-Slaying Sword wrapped in powerful qi. A simultaneous attack without a single error.

In the middle of the dark night sky, the opponent’s expression changed for a moment, and in an instant, my vision was turned upside down.

‘What?’

In a gap where I didn’t even know what had happened, my two arms were suppressed. The starlight and the night scenery that were passing by as lines in real time.

The ground was getting closer quickly.

The gruesome sound of the wind hit my ears and cooled my face.

Just before crashing into the rocky mountain that was full in front of my eyes.

I unfolded psychokinesis with my mana to decelerate and then put up a shield.

And with a huge impact, a loud roar burst out.

A rocky mountain that was deeply dug in as if it had been hit by a bombardment. A drop of cold sweat fell on the stone fragments.

‘Am I alive?’

I was now floating in the air with my two arms caught by a certain super-master.

To be precise, the opponent was holding me.

Even to the point of stepping on the ground first at the moment of impact to offset the shock.

“You’re younger than I thought. Great Mage.”

With a dignified voice, the restraint on my two arms was released.

I immediately widened the distance and turned my head.

What was there was a middle-aged man standing against the backdrop of the moonlight.

It was the Martial Alliance Leader, Seo Won-dal.

***

If you were to pick the number one in the Central Plains, he was an existence who was always counted among the top three.

That was Seo Won-dal.

However, since I knew the opponent was from the orthodox faction, what was important to me now was something else.

“By any chance, may I ask where this place is?”

“It’s Kongtong Mountain in Gansu Province.”

‘Gansu Province!’

A region located next to Shaanxi, a distance that would take at least five days even by riding a horse without rest from Hubei Province, where the Martial Academy was.

‘Was Seo Won-dal from the Kongtong Sect? This is big trouble.’

My physical condition was the worst, I had no money on hand, and the distance to the place I had to go was also far.

If this continued, I would be eliminated from the advanced student promotion without even being able to apply.

In this situation, there was only one corner to rely on.

I looked at Seo Won-dal.

He, who had heard the whole story, stroked his chin and said.

“So you have to return to the academy in five days to apply for the promotion? It will be difficult in that physical condition.”

It seemed he had roughly grasped my physical condition from the confrontation just now.

“Still, I have to go.”

At my stubborn plea, Seo Won-dal said as if in deep thought.

“Hmm, I’ll help you. But there’s a condition.”

He raised the corner of his mouth and then turned his head to look at Kongtong Mountain.

“Rest well in the main building today, and tomorrow, you will have a duel with our side’s rising star.”

“Pardon?”

There was no time for that. It was a race against time to get from Gansu to Hubei even if I hurried, and to rest for a day.

Just as I was about to refuse, I heard an offer I couldn’t ignore.

“If you win, I’ll take you to the Martial Academy in one day. How about it?”

Even if I departed in a hurry in my current state, the probability of arriving on time was slim.

Then I had no choice but to trust the Martial Alliance Leader and bet on a new possibility.

“I’ll do it.”

Under the pouring moonlight of Kongtong Mountain, I accepted the proposal with bravado.

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep